jmucchiello
Hero
Some one explain again the reason for an NDA. Or post the NDA. I don't see what is going to be discussed in a layout forum that requires an NDA. Or have I misunderstood the purpose?
The e-publishing support group
- Thread starter Dimwhit
- Start date
Dimwhit
Explorer
Some of the publishers may actually need to show a product they're working on to solicit advice, etc. But if it's a product they'll be selling, and it hasn't been released yet, then it would be natural for them to be a little nervous posting it out for other publishers to look at (and some probably won't regardless). But an NDA will just be the agreement we will all make that anything we look at in the forum will be kept within the forum and not shared or distributed elsewhere.
It's just to encourage more sharing without having to worry about a product leaking, etc.
Flyspeck23
First Post
It wouldn't be just a layout forum, wouldn't it?jmucchiello said:
And besides that, an NDA might be appropriate even if someone demands feedback/advice on layout if that someone has used some "real" material for the layout.
Flyspeck23
First Post
(Edit: double post. Sorry).
Last edited:
Fast Learner
First Post
It's supposed to be more as I understand it: a place to ask things like "what do you think of this idea" and "I'm trying to get this to work but it seems a little imbalanced because..." and such.jmucchiello said:
Last edited:
jmucchiello
Hero
I just try to keep the number of NDAs I sign to a bare minimum so I guess I'll have to see what it looks like to see if I'll join. Also, I don't think I'd want to be on a list where people put up ideas. What if I already had the idea? Had it in a product I'm working on and someone asks about it? How do I prove (within the confines of signing an NDA) that I thought of it first? No, thank you. I stay out of House Rules for the same reason.Fast Learner said:
And layouts can always be mocked up without using your real text. You can use the SRD to get similar "shaped" text.
Flyspeck23
First Post
A good point. Maybe it would work if one would first ask who else is working on what subjects, so that potential overlapping could be avoided (and actual content wouldn't be posted, but rather send to all on the list who don't see any immediate conflicts)?jmucchiello said:
Or there could be two (or more?) lists of supporters? One for rules, one for layout, one for running the busines...
Could be done. Should be done. But it might be hard to do for the really inexperienced (who, on the other hand, might be better off letting someone else do the layout...). For just debating layout, it would be a good thing to present nothing but layout.
Btw, there could be similar points made about "stealing" layout of a work in progress...
I think no matter how it's done, it suits some people but not all. The goal should nevertheless be to include as many (would-be?) publishers as possible. Or am I mistaken?
jmucchiello
Hero
Or we have no NDA and you post rules opinion questions at your own risk. Nothing found in a rulebook is really that unique or new. (What did Shakespear say about this?) If a member of the helping publishers started putting out material based on questions posed in the forum, the other members could politely ask that publisher to leave. (Call me an optimist)Flyspeck23 said:
Many forums will result in fewer posters/readers. I waste enough time as it is in the forums I already read.
If they are truly that inexperienced, then the act of mocking up the layout to ask questions about it will probably teach them more about layout than anything we will tell them. The inexperienced layout maker probably has only thought about the layout of the single product being worked on. Forcing them to mock up other text in order to ask questions doubles their experience.
This also points to another problem with the NDA. Forcing a newbie publisher to sign an NDA is forcing them to spend money on their lawyer. It's bad enough they have to ask the mods for permission to get into the forum. Now they also have to have access to a scanner to send a signed NDA? Also, not everyone has access to a scanner, who is going to receive these NDAs and hold on to them?
I think the idea for NDAs opens more cans of worms than it seals.
Nellisir
Hero
I have to admit, I didn't expect NDA's. I won't say this is a small enough community to be self-policing, because I KNOW that's not true, but....
I dunno. I thought "layout", because it was the problem of the moment. I don't think "ideas", because I've got plenty, and it seems inappropriate to subject my ideas to peer review before they're finished. THAT sounds like a recipe for middle-ground moderation, and a pretty sure way to not create the next new "thing" (a game with playing cards you trade, and you always have to buy more? Sounds silly.)
"Is this balanced" is more of a possibility, but isn't House Rules a better forum for that?
Question is, what kind of things do the publishers here now WANT to ask?
Cheers
Nell.
I dunno. I thought "layout", because it was the problem of the moment. I don't think "ideas", because I've got plenty, and it seems inappropriate to subject my ideas to peer review before they're finished. THAT sounds like a recipe for middle-ground moderation, and a pretty sure way to not create the next new "thing" (a game with playing cards you trade, and you always have to buy more? Sounds silly.)
"Is this balanced" is more of a possibility, but isn't House Rules a better forum for that?
Question is, what kind of things do the publishers here now WANT to ask?
Cheers
Nell.
Similar Threads
